Comparison of a latex agglutination assay and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detecting cholera toxin.

To determine the pandemic potential of Vibrio cholerae, one must demonstrate both the presence of O1 antigen and the production of enterotoxin (CT). Tissue culture or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for CT have been limited to research and reference laboratories. A kit for detecting CT by reversed passive latex agglutination is now commercially available and was used to test 168 strains of V. cholerae O1 and non-O1. When compared with the routine ELISA, the latex test was 98% accurate (86 of 88) for serogroup O1 strains and 100% accurate (80 of 80) for non-O1 strains. For both O1 and non-O1 study strains, the sensitivity of the latex agglutination test was 0.97 and the specificity was 1.00 when results were compared with ELISA results. The latex test is commercially available and has the advantages of being less complicated and less time-consuming than the ELISA.